Method and management entity for determination of geofence

ABSTRACT

A method and a management entity are disclosed for determination of geofence. According to an embodiment, the management entity receives, from an event reporter, a report indicating that an event related to a geofence has occurred at a location. The management entity determines, from a geographic information database, one or more spatial elements related to a spatial range of the geofence, with the reported location of the event. The management entity determines, from the one or more spatial elements, the spatial range of the geofence. At least one of determining the one or more spatial elements and determining the spatial range of the geofence is based on one or more event rules predetermined for the event according to characteristic of the event.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to device management,and, more particularly, to a method and a management entity fordetermination of geofence.

BACKGROUND

This section introduces aspects that may facilitate better understandingof the present disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this sectionare to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissionsabout what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.

A geofence is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area. Ageofence could be dynamically generated or predefined. The use of ageofence is called geofencing. One example of usage involves alocation-aware device of a location-based service (LBS) user entering orexiting a geofence. This activity could trigger an alert to the user ofthe device as well as messaging to the geofence operator. Thisinformation, which could contain the location of the device, could besent to a mobile telephone or another system for further processing.

Geofencing is critical for connected vehicles. A lot of connectedvehicle services rely on geofencing technology to implement. Forexample, in a use case for predefined geofence, the geofence can be anarea of interest (AOI). When a vehicle drives into the geofence,connected vehicle system could send an advertisement message to thedriver/passengers as customer engagement. In another use case forpredefined geofence, the geofence can be a toll gate. When a vehicledrives into the geofence, connected vehicle system could trigger anautomatic payment for the toll fee.

For dynamically generated geofence, it may be used for road hazardalerting, as an example. When a vehicle encounters road hazardsituation, it could report the location to connected vehicle system andthe latter will generate a geofence for the hazard area. If anothervehicle drives into this geofence, it will receive an alerting message.Typical road hazard alerting scenarios include wildlife collision,aquaplaning, potholes, etc. Dynamically generated geofence may alsoapply to safety use cases of vehicle-to-everything (V2X). Since safetyuse cases are latency sensitive, besides vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)technology, vehicle-to-network-to-vehicle (V2N2V) technology powered bythe 5th generation (5G) and edge computing is also another option. Inthis V2N2V implementation, geofencing usually plays a very importantrole. A typical scenario of safety use cases of V2X is emergencyelectronic brake light (EEBL). When a vehicle brakes under an emergency,it will report this event and its location to the connected vehiclesystem and the latter will generate a geofence for the braked vehicle.If another vehicle is inside or drives into this geofence, it willreceive an alerting message.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the detaileddescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

One of the objects of the disclosure is to provide an improved solutionfor determination of geofence. In particular, one of the problems to besolved by the disclosure is to avoid irrelevant receivers from beingalerted due to a geofence.

According to a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided amethod performed by a management entity. The method comprises receiving,from an event reporter, a report indicating that an event related to ageofence has occurred at a location. The method further comprisesdetermining, from a geographic information database, one or more spatialelements related to a spatial range of the geofence, with the reportedlocation of the event. The method further comprises determining, fromthe one or more spatial elements, the spatial range of the geofence. Atleast one of determining the one or more spatial elements anddetermining the spatial range of the geofence is based on one or moreevent rules predetermined for the event according to characteristic ofthe event.

In this way, the coverage of the geofence can be optimized.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more event rules may bepredetermined for the event according to an influence of the event ontraffic condition.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the spatial element may be one of aroad segment, a road lane and a flight path.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more event rules maycomprise at least one predetermined extending direction of the geofencerelative to the location of the event.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the at least one predeterminedextending direction of the geofence may be one of: a first directionthat is the same as a forward direction predefined for a correspondingspatial element; a second direction that is opposite to the firstdirection; and both the first direction and the second direction.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more event rules maycomprise a predetermined level of areas related to the event.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, one or more road segments may bedetermined when the predetermined level of areas is road segment.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, one or more road lanes may bedetermined when the predetermined level of areas is road lane.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more event rules maycomprise a predetermined time range. The spatial range of the geofencemay be determined based on one or more speeds related to the one or morespatial elements, such that a length of time required by travelingthrough the spatial range of the geofence according to the one or morespeeds is within the predetermined time range.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the speed used for traveling on aspatial element may have a correspondence to that spatial element.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the speed related to a spatialelement may be one of: a real-time average speed of the spatial element;and a speed limit for the spatial element.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more event rules maycomprise a predetermined event type to which the event belongs.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the event reporter may be a movingentity or a stationary entity.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the event reporter may be a movingentity and the one or more spatial elements may be determined basedfurther on historical trajectory information of the event reporter.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, information about the one or morespeeds related to the one or more spatial elements may be obtained froma real-time traffic information provider or the geographic informationdatabase.

According to a second aspect of the disclosure, there is provided amanagement entity. The management entity comprises at least oneprocessor and at least one memory. The at least one memory containsinstructions executable by the at least one processor, whereby themanagement entity is operative to receive, from an event reporter, areport indicating that an event related to a geofence has occurred at alocation. The management entity is further operative to determine, froma geographic information database, one or more spatial elements relatedto a spatial range of the geofence, with the reported location of theevent. The management entity is further operative to determine, from theone or more spatial elements, the spatial range of the geofence. Atleast one of determining the one or more spatial elements anddetermining the spatial range of the geofence is based on one or moreevent rules predetermined for the event according to characteristic ofthe event.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more event rules may bepredetermined for the event according to an influence of the event ontraffic condition.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the spatial element may be one of aroad segment, a road lane and a flight path.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more event rules maycomprise at least one predetermined extending direction of the geofencerelative to the location of the event.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the at least one predeterminedextending direction of the geofence may be one of: a first directionthat is the same as a forward direction predefined for a correspondingspatial element; a second direction that is opposite to the firstdirection; and both the first direction and the second direction.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more event rules maycomprise a predetermined level of areas related to the event.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, one or more road segments may bedetermined when the predetermined level of areas is road segment.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, one or more road lanes may bedetermined when the predetermined level of areas is road lane.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more event rules maycomprise a predetermined time range. The management entity may beoperative to determine the spatial range of the geofence based on one ormore speeds related to the one or more spatial elements, such that alength of time required by traveling through the spatial range of thegeofence according to the one or more speeds is within the predeterminedtime range.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the speed used for traveling on aspatial element may have a correspondence to that spatial element.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the speed related to a spatialelement may be one of: a real-time average speed of the spatial element;and a speed limit for the spatial element.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more event rules maycomprise a predetermined event type to which the event belongs.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the event reporter may be a movingentity or a stationary entity.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the event reporter may be a movingentity and the management entity may be operative to determine the oneor more spatial elements based further on historical trajectoryinformation of the event reporter.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, information about the one or morespeeds related to the one or more spatial elements may be obtained froma real-time traffic information provider or the geographic informationdatabase.

According to a third aspect of the disclosure, there is provided acomputer program product. The computer program product may compriseinstructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the atleast one processor to perform the method according to the above firstaspect.

According to a fourth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided acomputer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage mediummay comprise instructions which when executed by at least one processor,cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to theabove first aspect.

According to a fifth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided amanagement entity. The management entity comprises a reception modulefor receiving, from an event reporter, a report indicating that an eventrelated to a geofence has occurred at a location. The management entityfurther comprises a first determination module for determining, from ageographic information database, one or more spatial elements related toa spatial range of the geofence, with the reported location of theevent. The management entity further comprises a second determinationmodule for determining, from the one or more spatial elements, thespatial range of the geofence. At least one of determining the one ormore spatial elements and determining the spatial range of the geofenceis based on one or more event rules predetermined for the eventaccording to characteristic of the event

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features and advantages of the disclosure willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of illustrativeembodiments thereof, which are to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an existing geofence;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary architecture into which anembodiment of the disclosure is applicable;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed by a managemententity according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a geofence generated according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the method of FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the method of FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the method of FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating some concepts used in an exemplaryprocess according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a geofence generated according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a geofence generated according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an apparatus suitable for use inpracticing some embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a management entity according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purpose of explanation, details are set forth in the followingdescription in order to provide a thorough understanding of theembodiments disclosed. It is apparent, however, to those skilled in theart that the embodiments may be implemented without these specificdetails or with an equivalent arrangement.

Currently, for dynamically generated geofence for connected vehicles,regular graphics are commonly used, e.g. a circle with variable radius.FIG. 1 illustrates such a geofence in an EEBL case. Suppose vehicle 1 isthe braked one and a simple circle geofence is used. Then, all vehicles2-8 will receive alerts.

However, considering the road/lane topology and the nature of EEBL case,only vehicle 3, 4 and 6 shall be alerted. Vehicle 2 is in the same laneas the braked vehicle but is ahead of it, so there is no impact onvehicle 2. Vehicle 5 is not in the same lane as the braked vehicle, sothere is no impact on vehicle 5. Vehicle 7 is not in the same road asthe braked vehicle, so there is no impact on vehicle 7. Vehicle 8 is inthe road intersected with the road where vehicle 1 braked, but is aheadof vehicle 1, so there is no impact on vehicle 8.

In addition, the radius of the circle is static or based onpreconfigured rules without considering current traffic situation. Thus,it is not optimized.

Based on the above, the geofence in regular shape has the followingdrawbacks. Firstly, since actual geographical information (such asroad/lane topology, road/lane direction) and current traffic informationis not considered, the coverage is not optimized so that irrelevantvehicles may be alerted. Secondly, considering enormous number ofconnected vehicles and the V2X vision, connected vehicle system willhave to generate a huge number of unnecessary messages to irrelevantvehicles, which is a significant waste. Thirdly, from the point of viewof an individual vehicle, it may receive a lot of alerts which are notrelevant to itself. The vehicle has to implement extra logic and spendextra computation resource to determine if those events are relevant ornot.

The present disclosure proposes an improved solution for determinationof geofence. Hereinafter, the solution will be described in detail withreference to FIGS. 2-14 .

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary architecture into which anembodiment of the disclosure is applicable. As shown, the exemplaryarchitecture comprises a device management system, a geographicinformation database and a real-time traffic information provider.Although the device managed by the device management system is shown inFIG. 2 as a vehicle, the device may also be an aircraft (e.g. anunmanned aerial vehicle simply referred to as UAV), a watercraft (e.g.in an aquatic city), or other possible transportation means. The devicecan have a network connectivity that communicates bidirectionally withother systems outside the device. Typically, the device may sendtelemetry data or events, and receive commands or notifications.Although only one vehicle is shown in FIG. 2 , the number of the devicesmay be more than one.

The device management system is a platform which can provide a set ofservices to connected devices, such as telematics service, infotainmentservice, geofencing service, remote diagnostic service, etc. For thecase where the devices are vehicles, the device management system may bea vehicle connected system. Any existing or future developed Internet ofvehicles (IoV) platform may be used as the vehicle connected system. Forother cases of the devices, a similar platform may be used as the devicemanagement system. The connected devices can communicate with the devicemanagement system through network connectivity in order to access thoseservices.

The geographic information database is a database which can beconfigured or optimized for storing and querying data that representsobjects defined in a geometric space. For example, in the case where thedevices are vehicles, the spatial objects may include point-of-interestand road network, etc. In terms of road network model, it may containsub-objects such as lane and intersection, and related attributes forinstance direction and speed. As an exemplary example, the geographicinformation database may be a geographic information system (GIS)spatial database.

The real-time traffic information provider is service provider which canprovide real-time traffic information (or data) service to exposereal-time traffic information (or data) to applications. For example,the service may be accessed via application programming interface (API)calls. Examples of information provided by the service may include, butnot limited to, average speed of a lane, road obstacles, trafficincidents, etc. As described later, the real-time traffic informationprovider may not be needed in some embodiments. So it may be an optionalcomponent of the architecture.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed by a managemententity according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The managemententity may be a device management system shown in FIG. 2 or a componentthereof. The management entity may be implemented either as a dedicatedhardware, as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware, or asa virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform, e.g. ona cloud infrastructure. At block 302, the management entity receives,from an event reporter, a report indicating that an event related to ageofence has occurred at a location. The event reporter may be a movingentity or a stationary entity. In the case where the devices arevehicles, examples of the event reporter may include, but not limitedto, a vehicle involved in the event (e.g. a braked vehicle in thescenario of EEBL, a vehicle encountering wildlife in the scenario ofwildlife collision), an Internet of things (IoT) device (e.g. a roadsideweather sensor), a terminal device of a user, etc. The roadside weathersensor can send a report to the management entity when detecting adangerous weather or environment condition. Then a geofence can begenerated by the management entity to alert related vehicles in advance.In the case where the devices are aircrafts, the event reporter may be acore network connected with a base station that cannot control UAVs dueto the busy cell, which will be described later. The case where thedevices are watercrafts is similar to the case of vehicles, so the casesof vehicles and aircrafts will be mainly described hereinafter.

The event related to a geofence may be an event predetermined in themanagement entity to trigger the generation of the geofence. Examples ofthe event may include, but not limited to, EEBL, wildlife collision, thebusy cell failing to control UAVs, aquaplaning, potholes, trafficaccident, etc. The location of the event may be determined and reportedby the event reporter. For example, in the above case of vehicles, thelocation of the event may be detected by, for example, a vehicleinvolved in the event, an IoT device, a terminal device of a user, etc.In the above case of aircrafts, the location of the event may be aspecific area determined as the coordinates of the busy cell and theradius of the cell coverage. The report may contain identificationinformation of the event (e.g. a predetermined event type to which theevent belongs) and information about the location of the event.

At block 304, the management entity determines, from a geographicinformation database, one or more spatial elements related to a spatialrange of the geofence, with the reported location of the event. Asmentioned above, the geographic information database may be a GISspatial database. For the case of vehicles, the spatial element may be aroad segment or a road lane (or simply referred to as a lane). The roadsegment is a section of a road. The lane is a part of a road segment andhas a predefined forward direction to control and guide drivers andreduce traffic conflicts. For the case of aircrafts, the spatial elementmay be a flight path. At block 306, the management entity determines,from the one or more spatial elements, the spatial range of thegeofence. At least one of determining the one or more spatial elementsat block 304 and determining the spatial range of the geofence at block306 is based on one or more event rules predetermined for the eventaccording to characteristic of the event. Since the characteristic ofthe event is considered, the coverage of the geofence can be optimized.

One important characteristic of the event may be an influence of theevent on traffic condition. For example, the level of areas related toor influenced by some events (e.g. EEBL) is lane, while the level ofareas related to or influenced by some events (e.g. wildlife collision)is road segment. Accordingly, as a first option, the one or more eventrules may comprise a predetermined level of areas related to the event.The one or more spatial elements may be determined at block 304 based onthe predetermined level of areas related to the event. For instance,when the predetermined level of areas is road segment (e.g. for wildlifecollision), one or more road segments may be determined at block 304.When the predetermined level of areas is road lane (e.g. for EEBL), oneor more road lanes may be determined at block 304. In this way, thegeofence coverage can be optimized by maximizing the targeting torelevant vehicles and minimizing the targeting to irrelevant vehicles.Further, the management entity can be offloaded from generatingirrelevant messages. In turn, the (e.g. cellular) network connecting themanagement entity and devices can be offloaded from delivering theirrelevant messages. The individual devices can also be offloaded fromprocessing the irrelevant messages.

As another example, some events (e.g. EEBL) only influence trafficcondition after (or behind) the location of the event, while some events(e.g. wildlife collision) influence traffic condition before (or infront of) and after (or behind) the location of the event. Accordingly,as a second option, the one or more event rules may comprise at leastone predetermined extending direction of the geofence relative to thelocation of the event. The one or more spatial elements may bedetermined at block 304 based on the at least one predeterminedextending direction of the geofence.

For instance, the at least one predetermined extending direction of thegeofence may be one of: a first direction that is the same as a forwarddirection predefined for a corresponding spatial element; a seconddirection that is opposite to the first direction; and both the firstdirection and the second direction. Then, the predetermined extendingdirection(s) of the geofence for EEBL may be the second direction, whilethe predetermined extending direction(s) of the geofence for wildlifecollision may be both the first direction and the second direction.

For the EEBL scenario shown in FIG. 1 , the braked vehicle 1 is locatedat an intersection. Based on the predetermined extending direction(s) ofthe geofence for EEBL, the geofence should extend from the intersectiontowards the bottom right corner and towards the bottom left corner, asshown in FIG. 4 . In this way, the geofence coverage can be optimized bymaximizing the targeting to relevant vehicles (vehicles 3, 4 and 6 inFIG. 4 ) and minimizing the targeting to irrelevant vehicles (vehicles2, 5, 7 and 8 in FIG. 4 ). Further, as described above, the managemententity, the network and the individual devices can be offloaded fromunnecessary burden.

As yet another example, with respect to the size of the geofence area,if the road/lane is a highway, the geofence area shall be bigger thanthat for a normal road. Even for a specific road, the geofence areacould be smaller during traffic jam period. In view of this, as a thirdoption, the one or more event rules may comprise a predetermined timerange for representing the size of the geofence area. The spatial rangeof the geofence may be determined at block 306 based on one or morespeeds related to the one or more spatial elements, such that a lengthof time required by traveling through the spatial range of the geofenceaccording to the one or more speeds is within the predetermined timerange. Since speed information is considered, the geofence coverage canbe optimized by maximizing the targeting to relevant vehicles andminimizing the targeting to irrelevant vehicles. Further, as describedabove, the management entity, the network and the individual devices canbe offloaded from unnecessary burden.

The speed related to a spatial element may be a real-time average speedof the spatial element or a speed limit for the spatial element.Information about the real-time average speed may be obtained from areal-time traffic information provider. Information about the speedlimit may be obtained from the geographic information database or thereal-time traffic information provider. Thus, it is possible that thereal-time traffic information provider may be an optional component whenonly the speed limit is used. The speed used for traveling on a spatialelement has a correspondence to that spatial element. For example, whentraveling on one of the one or more spatial elements, a correspondingone of the one or more speeds is used.

To identify the one or more event rules corresponding to an event, theone or more event rules may comprise a predetermined event type to whichthe event belongs. Examples of the event type include, but not limitedto, EEBL, wildlife collision, busy cell failing to control UAVs,aquaplaning, potholes, traffic accident, etc. Different event types mayhave same or different predetermined event rules depending on thecharacteristics of related events.

Based on the above description, there may be three examples forimplementing blocks 304 and 306. In the first example, the one or morespatial elements may be determined at block 304 based on thepredetermined level of areas related to the event, and/or the at leastone predetermined extending direction of the geofence. The spatial rangeof the geofence may be determined at block 306 by simply using apredetermined extending distance of the geofence. In the second example,block 304 may be implemented by simply querying the geographicinformation database for one or more spatial elements within apredetermined radius around the location of the event. The spatial rangeof the geofence may be determined at block 306 based on one or morespeeds related to the one or more spatial elements and the predeterminedtime range. In the third example, the one or more spatial elements maybe determined at block 304 based on the predetermined level of areasrelated to the event, and/or the at least one predetermined extendingdirection of the geofence. The spatial range of the geofence may bedetermined at block 306 based on one or more speeds related to the oneor more spatial elements and the predetermined time range.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the method of FIG. 3 . Block 304 ofFIG. 3 may be implemented as blocks 508-510 of FIG. 5 and block 306 ofFIG. 3 may be implemented as blocks 512-518 of FIG. 5 . At block 508,the management entity queries the geographic information database for atleast one first spatial element around the location of the event. Forexample, at least one first spatial element within a predeterminedradius around the location of the event may be queried. Block 508 may beperformed based on the predetermined level of areas related to theevent. At block 510, the management entity determines, from the at leastone first spatial element, the first spatial element containing oroverlapped with the location of the event. For example, for the scenarioof EEBL, the first spatial element containing the location of the eventmay be determined. For the scenario of the busy cell failing to controlUAVs, the first spatial element overlapped with the location of theevent may be determined. When more than one first spatial elements arequeried and the event reporter is a moving entity, the first spatialelement may be determined based on historical trajectory information ofthe event reporter. For example, the event reporter may periodicallyreport its location to the management entity such that its historicaltrajectory information can be maintained. Note that since the locationof the event may be at an intersection of two roads/lanes, more than onefirst spatial elements may be determined at block 510.

At block 512, the management entity determines a first block thatextends from the location of the event to one end of the first spatialelement in an extending direction of the geofence. The extendingdirection of the geofence may be at least one predetermined extendingdirection of the geofence. Since the number of the extending directionsmay be more than one, the number of the first blocks may be more thanone. At block 514, the management entity determines a first distancethat is a product between a predetermined time length and the speedrelated to the first spatial element. That is, in the embodiment of FIG.5 , the predetermined time length is used instead of the predeterminedtime range described above. If a length of the first block is largerthan or equal to the first distance, the management entity determines,as the spatial range of the geofence, a second block that extends fromthe location of the event by the first distance in the extendingdirection of the geofence at block 516. In this case, the boundaries ofthe geofence area are determined and thus the process ends at block 516.On the other hand, if the length of the first block is smaller than thefirst distance, the management entity determines the first block as acomponent of the spatial range of the geofence at block 518. In thiscase, the method of FIG. 6 needs to be performed to continue thedetermination of the geofence.

FIG. 6 is also a flowchart for explaining the method of FIG. 3 . Block304 of FIG. 3 may be implemented as blocks 608-610 of FIG. 6 and block306 of FIG. 3 may be implemented as blocks 613, 615, 616 and 618 of FIG.6 . Continuing from block 518, if the length of the first block issmaller than the first distance, the management entity queries thegeographic information database for at least one second spatial elementaround the one end of the first spatial element at block 608. Forexample, at least one second spatial element within a predeterminedradius around the one end of the first spatial element may be queried.At block 610, the management entity determines, from the at least onesecond spatial element, the second spatial element that extends from theone end of the first spatial element in the extending direction of thegeofence. Similarly, since the one end of the first spatial element maybe an intersection between two roads/lanes, more than one second spatialelements may be determined at block 610.

At block 613, the management entity determines a remaining time lengththat is a difference between the predetermined time length and a lengthof time required by traveling through the first block at the speedrelated to the first spatial element. At block 615, the managemententity determines a second distance that is a product between theremaining time length and the speed related to the second spatialelement. If a length of the second spatial element is larger than orequal to the second distance, the management entity determines, as acomponent of the spatial range of the geofence, a third block thatextends from the one end of the first spatial element by the seconddistance in the extending direction of the geofence at block 616. Inthis case, the boundaries of the geofence area are determined and thusthe process ends at block 616. On the other hand, if the length of thesecond spatial element is smaller than the second distance, themanagement entity determines the second spatial element as a componentof the spatial range of the geofence at block 618. In this case, themethod of FIG. 7 needs to be performed to continue the determination ofthe geofence.

FIG. 7 is also a flowchart for explaining the method of FIG. 3 . Block304 of FIG. 3 may be implemented as blocks 708-710 of FIG. 7 and block306 of FIG. 3 may be implemented as blocks 713, 715, 716 and 718 of FIG.7 . Continuing from block 618, if the length of the previous secondspatial element is smaller than the previous second distance in theprevious iteration, the management entity queries, in the currentiteration, the geographic information database for at least one currentsecond spatial element around one end of the previous second spatialelement at block 708. Depending on the extending direction of thegeofence, the one end of the previous second spatial element may be thestart point or the end point of the previous second spatial element. Forexample, at least one current second spatial element within apredetermined radius around one end of the previous second spatialelement may be queried. At block 710, the management entity determines,from the at least one current second spatial element, the current secondspatial element that extends from the one end of the previous secondspatial element in the extending direction of the geofence. Similarly,since the one end of the previous second spatial element may be anintersection between two roads/lanes, more than one current secondspatial elements may be determined at block 710.

At block 713, the management entity determines a current remaining timelength that is a difference between the previous remaining time lengthand a length of time required by traveling through the previous secondspatial element at the speed related to the previous second spatialelement. At block 715, the management entity determines a current seconddistance that is a product between the current remaining time length andthe speed related to the current second spatial element. If a length ofthe current second spatial element is larger than or equal to thecurrent second distance, the management entity determines, as acomponent of the spatial range of the geofence, a current third blockthat extends from the one end of the previous second spatial element bythe current second distance in the extending direction of the geofenceat block 716. In this case, the boundaries of the geofence area aredetermined and thus the process ends at block 716. On the other hand, ifthe length of the current second spatial element is smaller than thecurrent second distance, the management entity determines the currentsecond spatial element as a component of the spatial range of thegeofence at block 718. In this case, the method of FIG. 7 needs to beperformed again to continue the determination of the geofence until theprocess ends at block 716.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating some concepts used in an exemplaryprocess according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown, the roadsegment is a specific section of a road with uniform characteristicsthat can be identified separately in a GIS spatial database. The lane isa part of a road segment that is designated to be used by a single lineof vehicles, to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts.A lane can also be identified separately in a GIS spatial database. Thetargeted block is a segmentation of a lane that is part of a geofencefor a specific type of event. Connected vehicle system can determine thetargeted block inside a lane or road segment based on certain logic oralgorithms which will be described later with respect to FIGS. 9-10 .

As an exemplary example, the data structure for road segment may be asshown in the table below.

Attribute Data Type Description roadId Integer The unique identity ofthe road segment. length Double The length of the road segment. widthDouble The width of the road segment. geometry Array (Line) The geometrydata in the road segment, typically are multiple lines

As an exemplary example, the data structure for lane may be as shown inthe table below.

Attribute Data Type Description laneId Integer The unique identity ofthe lane. roadId Integer The road segment this lane belongs to.direction Integer 1: forward direction; −1: reverse direction. widthDouble The width of the road segment. speed Double The speed limit forthe lane. geometry Array (Line) The geometry data in the lane, typicallyare multiple lines

As an exemplary example, the data structure for event rules may be asshown in the table below.

Attribute Data Type Description eventType Enum Indicate the type of theevent will trigger geofencing, e.g., EEBL. relevanceArea Enum Indicatewhich level is relevant: ROADSEGMENT | LANE relevanceDirection EnumIndicate which traffic direction is relevant. BEFORE | AFTER | BOTHrelevanceTime Integer In second. Indicate that the geofence shall notifyvehicles will arrive at this event location maximally afterrelevanceTime.Note that the above tables only show main attributes and the presentdisclosure is not limited to the attributes in the tables.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process according to anembodiment of the disclosure. In this exemplary process, the devices arevehicles, the device management system is a vehicle connected system,the geographic information database is a GIS spatial database, and areal-time traffic data service is used. This process shows the mainprocedure about how the connected vehicle system dynamically generates ageofence after receiving a notification of a relevant event.

At step 1, the connected vehicle reports its location to the connectedvehicle system periodically. At step 2, at a certain point of time, theconnected vehicle reports an event (e.g., EEBL event) with its locationto the connected vehicle system. At step 3, the connected vehicle systemfetches pre-configured eventRules by eventType. At step 4, the connectedvehicle system calls ‘Distance’ method provided by the GIS spatialdatabase to query the road segments relevant to the location of theevent. The input parameters of the ‘Distance’ method are ‘location’ and‘radius’. At step 5, the GIS spatial database returns a result set.There may be one or multiple road segments inside the result set. Ifmultiple road segments are returned by the GIS spatial database (forexample, the vehicle is under an overpass), the connected vehicle systemuses the historical trajectory data of the connected vehicle to do thefiltering to get the most relevant road segment at step 6. At step 7,the connected vehicle system queries the lanes inside the selected roadsegment. The input parameter is ‘roadId’ which is the unique identity ofthe road segment. At step 8, the GIS spatial database returns a resultset. There may be one or multiple lanes inside the result set. At step9, the connected vehicle system uses eventRules to do lane filtering toget the relevant lanes.

Note that since the industry currently is actively seeking for anaccurate positioning solution (2 cm) for V2X use cases (e.g. seeQualcomm and Trimble, https://enterpriseiotinsights.com/20190930/channels/news/qualcomm-seeks-accuracy-on-c-v2x),the implementation of high accuracy positioning system is feasible. Thedeployment of roadside sensor could also provide lane-level positioningcapability for vehicles.

At step 10, for each relevant lane, the connected vehicle system callsthe real-time traffic data service to get the real-time average speed ofthe lane by one of the locations inside the lane. At step 11, thereal-time traffic data service returns the real-time averageSpeed of thelane. If no valid value is returned, the speed limit for the lane isused as averageSpeed instead. At step 12, the connected vehicle systemlocates the targeted block based on averageSpeed and eventRules.Specifically, the parameter relevanceDistance is calculated as:

relevanceDistance=averageSpeed*eventRules.relevanceTime.

If relevanceDistance is smaller than the length of the current targetedblock, which means the current targeted block is enough, the remainingtime length Δt is updated as zero: Δt=0. The process goes to step 14. IfrelevanceDistance is larger than the length of the current targetedblock, which means the current targeted block is not enough,backtracking is needed. The remaining time length is updated as:

Δt=eventRules.relevanceTime−coveredTime,

where coveredTime=length of current targeted block/averageSpeed. Thenthe process goes to step 13. At step 13, the connected vehicle systemrecursively executes the ‘Backtracking Procedure’ until Δt=0. At step14, the connected vehicle system combines all targeted blocks as thegeofence.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the backtracking procedure. At step1, the connected vehicle system uses either the start point or the endpoint of the previous lane as the location for further lane lookup,depending on the eventType. At step 2, the connected vehicle systemcalls ‘Distance’ method provided by the GIS spatial database to querythe lanes connected with the previous lane. The input parameters of‘Distance’ method are ‘location’ and ‘radius’. At step 3, the GISspatial database returns a result set. There may be one or multiplelanes inside the result set.

At step 4, for each relevant lane, the connected vehicle system callsthe real-time traffic data service to get the real-time average speed ofthe lane by one of the locations inside the lane. At step 5, thereal-time traffic data service returns the real-time average speed ofthe lane. If no valid value is returned, the speed limit for the lane isused as averageSpeed instead. At step 6, the connected vehicle systemlocates the targeted block based on averageSpeed and eventRules.Specifically, the parameter relevanceDistance is calculated as:

relevanceDistance=averageSpeed*Δt.

If relevanceDistance is smaller than the length of the current targetedblock, which means the current targeted block is enough, the remainingtime length is updated as zero: Δt=0. If relevanceDistance is largerthan the length of the current targeted block, which means the currenttargeted block is not enough, backtracking is needed. The remaining timelength is updated as:

Δt=Δt−coveredTime,

where coveredTime=length of current targeted block/averageSpeed. Thenthe process goes to step 7. At step 7, the connected vehicle systemrecursively executes the Backtracking Procedure' until Δt=0.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a geofence generated according to anembodiment of the disclosure. As shown, in the event rules for thisscenario, event type is EEBL, relevanceArea is LANE, relevanceDirectionis AFTER, and relevanceTime is 300 seconds. Suppose the lane where thebraked vehicle is located is lane #1. At first, the targeted block #1 isdetermined as extending from the location of the braked vehicle in adirection indicated by the relevanceDirection to the bottom end of lane#1. As shown, the length of the targeted block #1 is 3200 m, while therelevanceDistance=averageSpeed*relevanceTime=4800 m. Since the length ofthe targeted block #1 is smaller than the relevanceDistance,backtracking is needed. The remaining time length is updated as:Δt=relevanceTime−coveredTime=300−3200/16=10 seconds.

Suppose the lane extending downwards from the bottom end of lane #1 islane #2 and the lane extending towards the bottom right corner from thebottom end of lane #1 is lane #3. Then, according to therelevanceDirection, lane #2 and lane #3 are determined for locatingcorresponding targeted blocks. Since the averageSpeed for lane #2 is 16m/s, the relevanceDistance for lane #2 is 1600 m, which is smaller thanthe length of lane #2. Thus, the remaining time length is updated aszero. Since the averageSpeed for lane #3 is 12 m/s, therelevanceDistance for lane #3 is 1200 m, which is smaller than thelength of lane #3. Thus, the remaining time length is also updated aszero. Then, the three targeted blocks are combined as the geofence forthe EEBL scenario.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a geofence generated according to anembodiment of the disclosure. In the scenario shown in FIG. 12 , a UAVflies along the flight path and is controlled by a cellular network. Theflight path can be queried from a corresponding GIS spatial database. Asshown, one base station in the cellular network cannot control the UAVdue to the busy cell. For this event, the overlapped portion between theflight path and the busy cell coverage may be determined as the locationof the event. The core network connected with this base station maydetect such event and report it to the device management system.Exemplary event rules for this event may be as shown in the table below.

eventType Enum BUSY CELL relevanceArea Enum FLIGTH PATHrelevanceDirection Enum BOTH relevanceTime Integer XX seconds

Based on the event rules, the overlapped portion extends along theflight path in two opposite directions by a certain distance calculatedaccording to the relevanceTime, so as to form the spatial range of thegeofence for the busy cell scenario. Any UAVs within the geofence may bealerted to change its flight path.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an apparatus suitable for use inpracticing some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, themanagement entity described above may be implemented through theapparatus 1300. As shown, the apparatus 1300 may include a processor1310, a memory 1320 that stores a program, and optionally acommunication interface 1330 for communicating data with other externaldevices through wired and/or wireless communication.

The program includes program instructions that, when executed by theprocessor 1310, enable the apparatus 1300 to operate in accordance withthe embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed above. That is,the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented at least inpart by computer software executable by the processor 1310, or byhardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

The memory 1320 may be of any type suitable to the local technicalenvironment and may be implemented using any suitable data storagetechnology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memories,magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems,fixed memories and removable memories. The processor 1310 may be of anytype suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one ormore of general purpose computers, special purpose computers,microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors basedon multi-core processor architectures, as non-limiting examples.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a management entity according to anembodiment of the disclosure. As shown, the management entity 1400comprises a reception module 1402, a first determination module 1404 anda second determination module 1406. The reception module 1402 may beconfigured to receive, from an event reporter, a report indicating thatan event related to a geofence has occurred at a location, as describedabove with respect to block 302. The first determination module 1404 maybe configured to determine, from a geographic information database, oneor more spatial elements related to a spatial range of the geofence,with the reported location of the event, as described above with respectto block 304. The second determination module 1406 may be configured todetermine, from the one or more spatial elements, the spatial range ofthe geofence, as described above with respect to block 306. At least oneof determining the one or more spatial elements and determining thespatial range of the geofence is based on one or more event rulespredetermined for the event according to characteristic of the event.The modules described above may be implemented by hardware, or software,or a combination of both.

In general, the various exemplary embodiments may be implemented inhardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combinationthereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, whileother aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may beexecuted by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device,although the disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects ofthe exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be illustrated anddescribed as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorialrepresentation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus,systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in,as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purposecircuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or othercomputing devices, or some combination thereof.

As such, it should be appreciated that at least some aspects of theexemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in variouscomponents such as integrated circuit chips and modules. It should thusbe appreciated that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may berealized in an apparatus that is embodied as an integrated circuit,where the integrated circuit may comprise circuitry (as well as possiblyfirmware) for embodying at least one or more of a data processor, adigital signal processor, baseband circuitry and radio frequencycircuitry that are configurable so as to operate in accordance with theexemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

It should be appreciated that at least some aspects of the exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure may be embodied in computer-executableinstructions, such as in one or more program modules, executed by one ormore computers or other devices. Generally, program modules includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data typeswhen executed by a processor in a computer or other device. The computerexecutable instructions may be stored on a computer readable medium suchas a hard disk, optical disk, removable storage media, solid statememory, RAM, etc. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, thefunction of the program modules may be combined or distributed asdesired in various embodiments. In addition, the function may beembodied in whole or in part in firmware or hardware equivalents such asintegrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and thelike.

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment”, “anembodiment” and so on, indicate that the embodiment described mayinclude a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it isnot necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature,structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarilyreferring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature,structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anembodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of oneskilled in the art to implement such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or notexplicitly described.

It should be understood that, although the terms “first”, “second” andso on may be used herein to describe various elements, these elementsshould not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used todistinguish one element from another. For example, a first element couldbe termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could betermed a first element, without departing from the scope of thedisclosure. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”,“comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and/or “including”, when usedherein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof. Theterms “connect”, “connects”, “connecting” and/or “connected” used hereincover the direct and/or indirect connection between two elements.

The present disclosure includes any novel feature or combination offeatures disclosed herein either explicitly or any generalizationthereof. Various modifications and adaptations to the foregoingexemplary embodiments of this disclosure may become apparent to thoseskilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, whenread in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, any and allmodifications will still fall within the scope of the non-Limiting andexemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

1. A method performed by a management entity, comprising: receiving,from an event reporter, a report indicating that an event related to ageofence has occurred at a location; determining, from a geographicinformation database, one or more spatial elements related to a spatialrange of the geofence, with the reported location of the event; anddetermining, from the one or more spatial elements, the spatial range ofthe geofence; wherein at least one of determining the one or morespatial elements and determining the spatial range of the geofence isbased on one or more event rules predetermined for the event accordingto characteristic of the event.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein the one or more event rules are predetermined for the eventaccording to an influence of the event on traffic condition.
 3. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the one or more spatial elements isone of: a road segment; a road lane; and a flight path.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the one or more event rules comprise atleast one predetermined extending direction of the geofence relative tothe location of the event.
 5. The method according to claim 4, whereinthe at least one predetermined extending direction of the geofence isone of: a first direction that is the same as a forward directionpredefined for a corresponding spatial element; a second direction thatis opposite to the first direction; and both the first direction and thesecond direction.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one ormore event rules comprise a predetermined level of areas related to theevent.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein one or more roadsegments are determined when the predetermined level of areas is a roadsegment; or wherein one or more road lanes are determined when thepredetermined level of areas is a road lane.
 8. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the one or more event rules comprise a predeterminedtime range; and wherein the spatial range of the geofence is determinedbased on one or more speeds related to the one or more spatial elements,such that a length of time required by traveling through the spatialrange of the geofence according to the one or more speeds is within thepredetermined time range.
 9. The method according to claim 8, whereinthe speed used for traveling on a spatial element has a correspondenceto that spatial element.
 10. The method according to claim 8, whereinthe speed related to a spatial element is one of: a real-time averagespeed of the spatial element; and a speed limit for the spatial element.11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more event rulescomprise a predetermined event type to which the event belongs.
 12. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the event reporter is a movingentity or a stationary entity.
 13. The method according to claim 12,wherein the event reporter is a moving entity and the one or morespatial elements are determined based further on historical trajectoryinformation of the event reporter.
 14. The method according to claim 1,wherein information about the one or more speeds related to the one ormore spatial elements is obtained from a real-time traffic informationprovider or the geographic information database.
 15. A management entitycomprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory, the atleast one memory containing instructions executable by the at least oneprocessor, whereby the management entity is operative to: receive, froman event reporter, a report indicating that an event related to ageofence has occurred at a location; determine, from a geographicinformation database, one or more spatial elements related to a spatialrange of the geofence, with the reported location of the event; anddetermine, from the one or more spatial elements, the spatial range ofthe geofence; wherein at least one of determining the one or morespatial elements and determining the spatial range of the geofence isbased on one or more event rules predetermined for the event accordingto characteristic of the event.
 16. The management entity according toclaim 15, wherein the one or more event rules are predetermined for theevent according to an influence of the event on traffic condition. 17.The management entity according to claim 15, wherein the one or morespatial elements is one of: a road segment; a road lane; and a flightpath.
 18. The management entity according to claim 15, wherein the oneor more event rules comprise at least one predetermined extendingdirection of the geofence relative to the location of the event.
 19. Themanagement entity according to claim 18, wherein the at least onepredetermined extending direction of the geofence is one of: a firstdirection that is the same as a forward direction predefined for acorresponding spatial element; a second direction that is opposite tothe first direction; and both the first direction and the seconddirection.
 20. The management entity according to claim 15, wherein theone or more event rules comprise a predetermined level of areas relatedto the event. 21.-29. (canceled)